Authorities sell exiled journalist’s summer house
June 24, Pozirk. Authorities have auctioned off a dacha confiscated from Polish-based Belarusian journalist Uładzimir Chilmanovič, human rights group Haradzienskaja Pravaabarona reported on Wednesday.
Two people reportedly took part in the bidding contest, with the winner pledging 3,242 rubels ($1,150) for the property.
Earlier all household appliances owned by Chilmanovič’s family, in particular a refrigerator, a television set and a washing machine, were confiscated and sold.
On June 19, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported that authorities in Hrodna had put up Chilmanovič’s apartment for auction again, lowering the asking price to 100,800 rubels ($36,000), after failing to sell it for 126,000 rubels.
In October 2024, the Supreme Court upheld a five-year prison sentence for Chilmanovič at a trial held without the defendant being present.
Two months before, a judge in Hrodna found the journalist guilty of facilitating extremism, apparently for working for media outlets critical of the Belarusian government.
Authorities sealed his summer house and Hrodna apartment, preparing the properties for seizure. The judge also sentenced the journalist to a fine of 40,000 rubels (some $12,300).
Investigators opened a case against Chilmanovič in March 2024.
In late 2023, law-enforcers searched his wife’s apartment, where he had lived between 2014 and 2021, seizing a hard drive, books, newspapers and other items.
Supreme Court upholds prison sentence for exiled journalist
October 29, Pozirk. The Supreme Court upheld the five-year prison sentence for Poland-based Belarusian journalist Uładzimir Chilmanovič, the court's press office reported, citing the ruling dated October 25. Two months ago, a judge in Hrodna found the journalist guilty of …
